


Obligated

by SubtitleGremlin



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Hurt Hinata Shouyou, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Protective Tsukishima Kei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:54:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27507931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubtitleGremlin/pseuds/SubtitleGremlin
Summary: “What did you do?” Kei asked before he could stop himself. Hinata startled violently, his head snapping to meet Kei’s eyes. The normal warm brown eyes were dull and glassy. The faint beginnings of a bruise painted his jaw, and he was sporting a busted lip, the blood crusted and dry. His eyes were swollen as if he’d been crying for a while, and his cheeks were a blotchy pink.Kei happened upon Hinata one night, injured and acting different. He didn't think anything of it.That is, until Hinata kept showing up to practice hurt. He decided to figure out what was going on.He realized quickly he was in way over his head.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Tsukishima Kei, Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 6
Kudos: 177
Collections: oh YES





	Obligated

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this is my first fic for this fandom and ship that i love so dearly, so i hope i did good! 
> 
> please enjoy the feels trip that this is

Kei was walking home from the convenience store when he heard the tale tell sounds of someone hitting a ball against a wall, which was unusual, considering it was already dark and he hadn’t seen another person since he turned off the main road and into the residential district.

He shrugged, deciding to just ignore whoever it was and continue home to complete the errand he was sent on, when he heard an all too familiar voice.

“God damn it!” while the voice was familiar, the words were the last he had expected to hear. Kei blinked, frozen in the shock of hearing his teammate, sunshine incarnate, swear. A few more thumps echoed in the silence, followed by a heavier, more muted thump and a loud grunt. “ _Fuck!_ ” Hinata hissed, snapping Kei back to reality.

He walked in the direction he heard the noise, stopping when his target came into sight. On the ground, Hinata was sprawled out, holding his leg in one hand, and wiping his face with the other. Even in the spotty lighting, Kei could see he had dirt stains all over his body and clothes.

“What did you do?” Kei asked before he could stop himself. Hinata startled violently, his head snapping to meet Kei’s eyes. The normal warm brown eyes were dull and glassy. The faint beginnings of a bruise painted his jaw, and he was sporting a busted lip, the blood crusted and dry. His eyes were swollen as if he’d been crying for a while, and his cheeks were a blotchy pink.

Kei blinked again, taking in the drastically different Hinata.

_What the hell?_ he thought before he could stop himself.

“I- why do you care?” Hinata deflected, his tone carrying just enough bitterness to almost cover up his obvious pain. Kei was almost impressed. Almost. 

“I don’t, but if you’ve gone and hurt yourself and can’t play properly, it really would be a pain,” Kei shrugged nonchalantly, lightly crossing his arms. “Besides, the King would have my poor commoner head if I knew you were hurt and did nothing about it.” at the mention of Kageyama, Hinata visibly froze. 

_Did they fight again?_

“I’m fine.” Hinata growled, though his hand was still cradling his knee and he hadn’t made an attempt to stand up, which was unusual as Hinata always hated feeling shorter than necessary, especially around Kei. Kei sighed heavily, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes under his glasses.

“Sure you are,” Kei started, walking closer to the hunched Hinata on the ground. “Because anyone who is ‘fine’ just sits in the dirt crying.” Kei crouched when he reached Hinata, setting his shopping on the ground next to him. He poked Hinata’s knee lightly, getting a pained hiss and his hand swatted.

“Don’t do that.” Hinata snapped, scooting away slightly. Kei sighed again, grabbing the bag and moving to stand. Hinata relaxed slightly, but tensed once Kei grabbed his arm and hauled him up. “What the hell, Tsukishima!” he yanked his arm away, immediately losing his balance and starting to topple over. Kei caught his arm easily and steadied him.

“Now, care to tell me why you look like you got into a fight?” Kei kept a firm grip on Hinata’s arm, forcing him to stay close and not bolt. Hinata shook his head.

“I didn’t get into a fight, I just kept messing up practicing.” the words came out almost robotically, as though rehearsed, but then again, Kei had never claimed to be exceptional at reading people and their emotions, so he could be wrong. Kei hummed.

“Messed up enough to bruise your face and bust your lip? I’ll assume you hurt your knee when you fell earlier.” Hinata glared at Kei.

“You try taking several balls to the face and come out without something bruised or bleeding.” he shrugged, pulling his arm away and awkwardly shifting his weight to his uninjured leg. Kei shrugged then.

“Yeah, I’ll pass,” Kei replied. “Besides, I’m a blocker, I don’t exactly make it a habit to take a ball to the face.” he finished, smirking slightly at Hinata, who scowled. The familiar banter seemed to bring Hinata back from wherever he mentally retreated to, which Kei deemed good enough for him, and stepped back to head home. He did his good deed, he decided.

“As fun as this has been, I’d rather be at home.” Kei said as he turned, throwing his free hand up in a half hearted parting gesture as he followed the path back to the street. Hinata didn’t say anything, and Kei didn’t look back.

* * *

It was the next day, at morning practice, that Kei noticed Hinata was sporting more injuries than he had the night before, and these ones did not resemble that of an accidental ball to the face or a tumble during practice. They looked intentional. Kei almost went to interrogate the shorter boy before Sugawara noticed and cornered him.

“Hinata! Are you okay? What happened?” he fussed over the boy, and gained the attention of the rest of the team. Everyone made various sounds of concern, all except Kei, who just watched Hinata’s face go through a series of expressions he’d never seen on the boy before.

_What did he do after I left?_

“I was practicing last night and just kept messing up! I’m fine though, I promise!” Hinata had a huge smile on his face, and Suga tutted.

“You should be more careful.” Suga scolded, shaking his head. Hinata had the grace to look sheepish, scratching the back of his neck lightly.

“I know, I know. I’m going straight home after practice today to rest, I swear.” Suga accepted the response, and practice resumed as usual.

It wasn’t until lunch that Kei noticed something was really off about Hinata.

For the past week or so, his lunch break had been filled with tutoring the resident volleyball idiot duo, due to the upcoming exams, and much like the first time Kei tutored them, their attendance to the next training camp depended on them passing. He often wondered why they didn’t just ask Yachi for her help, since Hinata would constantly complain that she was a better teacher.

But today, Kageyama had come in alone and sat by Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi sat in silence for a minute, as if waiting for the other boy to come barreling into the classroom.

“Did Hinata get held up?” Yamaguchi turned to Kageyama in question.

“Or maybe he decided to bother Yachi instead of us.” Kei suggested, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms.

“Hinata isn’t here.” Kageyama replied, shrugging as he pulled out his textbook and notebook, settling everything on the desk in front of him, ignoring Kei.

“What do you mean? He was at practice this morning.” Yamaguchi asked, tilting his head to the side in his confusion.

“He was called out of class and ended up leaving early.” Kageyama shrugged again, and pulled out his phone, opening it to show a message from Hinata.

**` From: Hinata Shouyou  
To: Kageyama Tobio  
Subject: Went Home` **

**` Message:  
Let everyone know I won’t be at practice after school! My dad needed me and signed me out early today.` **

“Ah.” Yamaguchi nodded, and with that, Kageyama put his phone away and began to pay attention to Yamaguchi’s tutoring.

Kei furrowed his brows. Hinata had mentioned before that his dad lived abroad, and he hadn’t seen him in several years, and he didn’t seem to care much that he hadn’t seen the man, either.

He was curious. He hated that he was curious.

_Ugh. A problem for another day._

He ignored his curiosity to instead poke fun at Kageyama and eat his lunch.

* * *

Over the next several days, Hinata began to look worse for wear. The injuries weren’t openly obvious anymore, but Kei had been watching him closely enough that he noticed them. The slightly limp. A flinch when he lifted his arms. How stiff his shoulders were.

Hinata also stopped changing when people were around. That was the final straw.

After nearly a week of cataloging reactions from Hinata, Kei had enough. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew Hinata wasn’t overworking himself or fumbling _that much_ when practicing. 

_How did nobody else notice? Or did they just assume he’d talk about it eventually?_

It was after the team parted ways outside of Sakanoshita that Kei decided to confront Hinata. He followed him, noticing he wasn’t going in the direction he normally took home. He furrowed his brow in confusion. This direction was a more roundabout path to his own home. Though, he was sure Hinata knew that much, as he had never actually been to Kei’s house.

“Where the fuck are you even going?” Kei eventually asked, causing Hinata to startle. Kei sighed at how easily spooked the boy was. 

_Another red flag._

“Tsukishima? Are you following me?” Hinata accused, either ignoring the question or attempting to deflect again, Kei wasn’t sure.

“My house is this way, moron.” Kei grit out, rubbing his eyes. It technically wasn’t a lie, he was a few streets and a couple turns away from where he lived. He’d taken this path home several times, when he just needed time to think and be alone, usually after matches, though it had been a while since he’d come this way.

“Oh. I’ve never seen you go this way, though.” Hinata mumbled, seeming to deflate. A subdued Hinata was a Hinata that Kei decided he never wanted to see again.

“Sometimes I enjoy the scenic route, sue me.” Kei shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets and looking at the shorter boy. Hinata nodded once, blinking rapidly.

“Ah,” he mumbled again, looking at the ground. “My dad is living near here. Natsu and I are staying with him for now.” Hinata finally answered Kei’s first question. It was kind of vague, which only served to increase Kei’s curiosity even more.

“I thought your dad lived abroad?” Kei replied, an attempt to keep Hinata talking, to get him to slip some type of information out to him about what was going on. Hinata nodded once.

“I mean, he technically does. But he’s back here for a while,” Hinata shrugged, staring off into the distance. “I don’t know when he’s leaving again. Maybe soon.” he shrugged again. Why was he shrugging so much? “It was better before.” he spoke the last part so softly, almost as if he didn’t want anyone to hear him. But Kei heard him clear as day.

_What?_

“What does that mean?” he pressed, tilting his head slightly. Hinata glanced at him before looking back towards the line of trees on the side of the path.

“He’s just not a very good dad, is all.” Hinata said simply, as if he were discussing the weather or what he had for lunch. Kei blinked in surprise.

_What?_ the single word thought just kept flashing through his head.

“Hinata,” Kei started carefully, and Hinata turned to meet his eyes. “Why are you still hurt?” he finally asked what he intended when he set off to follow the boy. Hinata looked at the ground between the two of them.

“I already told you.” Hinata mumbled. Kei stepped forward, closing the roughly two meter gap between them, stopping when he could easily reach out and touch Hinata.

“Volleyball practice doesn’t leave _you_ stiff and limping, Hinata.” Maybe someone else, but not Hinata, the endless ball of energy who was _always_ practicing, always moving. Hinata sighed, shaking his head.

“No, it doesn’t.” Hinata continued in that soft voice, his eyes still on the ground, pointedly refusing to look up and meet Kei’s eyes.

_Please don’t let me be right._

“Somebody did this to you.” Hinata nodded once, clenching his hands into tight fists.

_Fuck._

“Who?” Hinata didn’t answer, instead shaking his head. “Hinata, who did this?” Kei asked firmly, bringing his hand up to force Hinata to look at him. The look on the boy's face practically made him stop breathing.

Brown eyes were full of tears, looking scared and lost. His lip was quivering, and his cheeks were tinted red from the strain of holding back tears. His bottom lip was stuck between his teeth, which were baring down almost hard enough to break the delicate skin. It didn’t take long for Hinata’s whole body to start to tremble.

“I-I can’t.” Hinata’s voice shook violently. Kei had never heard the boy sound so scared before. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. He lifted his other hand to Hinata’s arm, barely touching, almost hovering. Hinata sniffled.

“Do you trust me?” Kei was whispering now. This was more intimate than Kei had ever experienced, significantly more intimate than he planned this conversation to go. But knowing someone was hurting Hinata, actually hurting the happiest, kindest person he knew, tore Kei’s world in two.

Sure, Kei himself was an asshole to Hinata, but he never wanted to actually _hurt_ the boy.

He was pretty sure he knew who it was. But he needed Hinata to say the words, to confirm his suspicions or to ease his worry. 

One, he would be more the most out of his depth that he had ever been, with little to no way to help or protect Hinata. He’s just a first year. What could he even do about that?

The other, he could easily protect the boy, easily make his sunshine smile again. Bullies are nothing, easily intimidated.

_No. Not_ my _sunshine. What the fuck?_

“I trust you.” Hinata replied in a near reverent whisper, tears spilling over, falling silently down his pale cheeks. 

“Then tell me.” Kei gently coaxed. Hinata sniffled, looking away again. In the blink of an eye, Hinata threw his arms around Kei, and let out a harsh sob. Kei froze for a second, before forcing himself to relax, repositioning his arms so that he had one around Hinata’s shoulders, the other carding through his wild hair. 

Even the coldest, most unfeeling person on the entire planet couldn’t deny Hinata his comfort right now.

“Not here. Please.” Hinata spoke between sobs, and Kei had never heard him sound so desperate, so _weak_. He felt anger flare up, but not at the trembling boy in his arms. No, he was angry at who did this, who broke the headstrong boy down so far. Kei hummed in affirmation before gently prying Hinata’s arms from his waist, and gingerly taking Hinata’s hand in his, slowly leading him towards his house.

He spent the entire walk silent, trying to make sense of his thoughts and feelings.

* * *

Upon reaching the Tsukishima residence, Kei let go of Hinata’s hand to fish his keys from his school bag. Nobody would be home. Akiteru was away at school in Sendai, and his mom was visiting him. Both, thankfully, close enough to come home quickly if Kei needed to call them.

And he had a feeling he would need to.

He toed off his shoes once inside, and waited for Hinata to slowly do the same. Then, he led the way upstairs to his room.

With the door shut behind him, Hinata turned to stare at Kei. Just as Kei opened his mouth to speak, Hinata beat him to it.

“Why do you care so much?” he didn’t sound accusatory, but genuinely curious. Kei frowned, looking down.

“I- I realized that I… I don’t like seeing you hurt.” Kei mumbled out. He felt a blush heat his face, and by reflex readjusted his glasses to hide it. Hinata blinked, obviously surprised.

“Oh.” he mumbled, his own face dusting pink. An awkward tension settled heavily in the room, both boys blushing and refusing to look at the other. It took Kei several minutes to recompose himself, attempting to focus on why he even brought Hinata to his house.

“Hinata,” Kei broke the silence, finally turning his gaze back onto the other boy. Hinata immediately shrunk in on himself, as if to make himself so small he would eventually just disappear. Kei decided he didn’t like that, not one bit. “Who hurt you?” 

At the question, Hinata folded over, arms wrapping around himself as he began to harshly sob again. Making a distressed sound, Kei rushed over, pulling the boy up and into a hug.

_What the fuck am I doing right now?_

Hinata gripped at Kei’s school clothes, but Kei couldn’t bring himself to care that he’d now have to wash tear stains out of the shirt, or iron the wrinkles out of the jacket. He made soft, soothing noises to Hinata, gently rubbing at his back. 

After several, long minutes, Hinata’s sobs calmed enough that Kei felt he could pull back. He lightly pushed Hinata towards his bed, forcing him to sit, sitting next to him.

“P-promise you won’t tell anyone.” Hinata spoke through his tears, and Kei shook his head.

“I can’t make that promise,” Kei spoke softly, not looking at Hinata, focusing instead on the shelf above his desk, where pictures and figurines were sitting. Hinata inhaled sharply. “I can’t help you if I keep this a secret.” Kei finished. Hinata let out a whimper. He felt obligated to help the other, to make the cause of his pain go away.

“He might hurt Natsu.” Hinata tries weakly, and Kei shakes his head. Nevermind that he has no fucking clue who Natsu is, but if Hinata is worried about them, then they must be important.

“Not if you let me help you.” Kei pushes ever so slightly, reaching his hand to Hinata’s and squeezing it gently. Hinata looks at him with wide eyes, tears still falling endlessly down his cheeks.

“It-it’s my dad,” Hinata whispers, gripping Kei’s hand like a lifeline. “He came back to try to take us with him. Mom is halfway across the country with my sick grandparents, and he came back while she wasn’t here and forced us to move in with him.” it was as if a dam had broken, the confession spilling from his lips.

“Hinata, he can’t force you to move away with him.” Kei wasn’t 100% sure how custody worked, but he’s pretty sure that a formerly absent parent can’t just show up and take children away without permission from _someone_. Namely, the not absent parent.

“He doesn’t care. He- when I told him we’d never go with him, that’s when he first hit me. That-that was that night you found me in the park,” Hinata kept talking, the words almost slurred with how fast he was talking, as if he was desperate to get them out before he lost his nerve. “He’s not a citizen here, so he can’t stay for long. So he’s trying to get us to leave with him before mom comes back.” 

“When does he have to leave?” or alternatively, how much longer were you planning to try to hide this?

“He has until the end of the month, I think. He could only get a visitor visa, and it took him a while to find us. Mom moved us here right before Natsu was born to hide from him.” Alright, that wasn’t that long. The end of the month was about a week and a half away.

“Have you called your mom?” Kei asked, hoping Hinata would have done the most obvious of things. Hinata nodded.

“She’s trying to come back as soon as she can, but she has to find someone to care for my grandparents so she can leave,” Hinata then looked down. “It’s a really small town and there aren’t a lot of people. She was supposed to stay there until they passed.” he spoke softly. Kei nodded slowly.

“Why does he keep hurting you?” and now, for the million dollar question.

“He… he never wanted me. I was a mistake, one that could have ruined his career. He only married my mom because of me. He couldn’t really afford to have an international scandal like that, back then.” Hinata shrugged, sniffling. “After they split up and he left, mom thought we were safe. We moved away and started over. But he got remarried, and his new wife somehow found out about us, so he decided to pretend he’s been trying to find us for years.

“His new wife convinced him to come back and find us, and take us to America to meet her. So, he came, but he wasn’t happy about it. He wanted to pretend we didn’t exist, not have us be a part of this new life of his,” Hinata continued his story, his eyes trained on the floor, his fingers like a vice around Kei’s hand. “He was really mad he never knew about Natsu. Mom never told him that she was pregnant again. I don’t know why, but he blamed me for it.” Hinata shrugged then, looking away.

“Hinata, you have to tell someone.” Kei insisted. This was a problem he couldn’t fix. He didn’t have the power needed to do anything except listen and comfort. And even then, that was spotty at best.

“I think I just did, Tsukishima.” for just a brief moment, the Hinata Kei knew and- against his better judgement- missed, had shone through. Kei turned an unimpressed glare at his shorter companion.

“I mean someone who can help. In case it escaped your notice, I also happen to be a first year in high school. I can’t exactly do anything to get you out of that situation.” Kei sighed, using his free hand to rub at his eyes.

“Who, then? Takeda-sensei? Coach Ukai? Or maybe the vice principal?” Hinata said each name like they were laced with venom, as if each person had offended him somehow. 

“Yeah, any of them could literally do significantly more than I can.” Kei shot back. Hinata shook his head.

“Takeda-sensei or Coach Ukai would bench me, especially during an investigation. Maybe even the same with the vice principal. Volleyball has been the one good thing in my life recently, I can’t lose that right now.” Hinata mumbled, his voice shaking ever so slightly. 

“I can call my mom, have her come back and we can tell her.” Kei suggested. He was going to do it anyways, whether Hinata wanted him to or not. 

He wasn’t going to just sit idly by knowing Hinata was getting hurt, by his own father, of all people.

Thankfully, Hinata agreed.

“Okay.” he mumbled, and with that, Kei stood, and went to get his phone from where he had left it in his bag.

* * *

Tsukishima Akari was the exact opposite of Kei. She was, actually, very similar to Hinata.

Kei supposed that was why he wasn’t as bothered by Hinata as he pretends to be.

As soon as Kei had called her and said he needed her home, immediately, she was already half in her car on the way back to Miyagi, dragging a very confused Akiteru with her. The second she saw Hinata, with his tear stained face and bruises, she pulled the boy into a hug and told him she would do everything she could to fix it. Akiteru simply stood by silently, looking incredibly lost and confused, but offering what support he could.

When Hinata and Kei finished telling her what was happening, he saw a look on her face that reminded him of himself.

Kei had never been more thankful for his family in his life.

“Shouyou-kun, do you think I could speak with your mother?” Akari asked kindly, placing a steaming mug of tea in front of the boy. He nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing opening his mother's contact. “What’s her name, dear?” she asked kindly as she input the number in her own phone, readying herself to leave the kitchen to make her call.

Akiteru quietly excused himself from the kitchen then, saying he would prepare the guest room.

“Hinata Chiyo.” Hinata spoke softly, head slightly bowed and eyes trained on his mug. Kei watched from his seat next to Hinata. 

“Thank you, sweetie.” Akari smiled at him, even though he couldn’t see it, and gave Kei a look that screamed _stay with him or I’ll beat your ass._ He almost laughed.

As if he’d willingly leave Hinata.

_Ah, shit. No._

After Akari left the kitchen to call Hinata’s mom, Kei turned to Hinata. He reached over and lightly poked at his arm, which caused him to startle slightly and look at Kei.

“What’s going through that head of yours right now?” Kei asked, leaning to rest his chin on his hand.

“Mm. I’m worried about Natsu. She should be back soon, and she’ll go back to his house.” Hinata mumbled, and began to fidget with his hands. “She’s only 9. She’s too young for this.”

“ _You’re_ too young for this. Anyone is too young for this.” Kei scolded as he moved to stand. “Where is she? We can go get her and bring her here.” he suggested at Hinata’s questioning gaze. The light that shone in the boys eyes was worth it all.

“Her class went on a field trip to Sendai Museum, they should be back at her school in like 20 minutes,” Hinata stood up, but quickly lost the light in his eyes. “But her school is back by home. On the other side of the mountain.” he sounded so defeated. 

“Alright, well. Akiteru can drive us there to get her.” Kei shrugged, and before Hinata could protest, Kei walked out of the kitchen and went to hunt his older brother down.

* * *

Hinata Shouyou was a doting older brother, Kei noted upon seeing him with his younger sister. The little girl looked so much like her brother, it was as if she was simply a female clone of him. They had the same appearance, the same energy. It should have been exhausting to even be around. 

Except that it wasn’t.

“Natsu, say hi!” Hinata smiled at his sister as he got her situated in the backseat of the car. Akiteru grinned at her, waving wildly.

“Hello!” Natsu spoke just as loud as her brother, waving back excitedly. “I’m Natsu! I’m Shouyou’s little sister!” she introduced herself proudly, grinning widely. She had a missing tooth, which made the smile just that much more endearing to look at.

“Hello there, Natsu-chan! My name is Akiteru, and this is _my_ little brother Kei.” Akiteru gestured to Kei in the passenger seat next to him, who wordlessly waved to the girl. Her eyes grew wide.

“Are you sure? He’s bigger than you!” Ah, the brutally unfiltered honesty of children never failed to make Kei laugh a little. Akiteru sighed, though his smile didn’t leave his face.

“I am pretty sure. He stole all the height when he was born so that’s why he looks like a lamppost.” Akiteru replied easily. Natsu giggled, and Hinata let out an ungraceful snort. 

“Anyways!” Akiteru started speaking through a laugh, “we’re going to dinner at our house! And your mom said you guys can stay the night, too! Isn’t that exciting?” Akiteru started driving back towards the other side of the mountain. Natsu practically squealed.

“Yes!” Hinata finally laughed at that. “Oh! Shou, can you help me with this?” Natsu asked as she pulled a notebook from her bag, opening it and pointing to a page. Hinata looked at it and nodded, smiling at her.

“Sure, Natsu. We’ll do your homework before dinner.” he spoke gently to her, and she grinned her little toothless grin at him.

“Are you sure you can understand it?” Kei teased, and Hinata rolled his eyes. “You have such a hard time as it is.” Natsu made a very indignant sound at that.

“Shou’s really smart, though! He always helps me with my English and I always get good grades!” Natsu defended her brother, and Kei blinked at her. Hinata shrugged.

“It’s just English. I’m not that good at everything else.” Natsu shook her head.

“Bad Shou! You’re smart!” she nodded to herself, decidedly ending the conversation.

“Sure, Natsu.” Hinata agreed easily, shaking his head and laughing softly. Kei rolled his eyes, turning back to the front to pay attention to the ride back.

* * *

At the kitchen table, Kei was thoroughly shocked by the elder Hinata for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the past week.

Hinata _was_ smart. He easily explained whatever Natsu didn’t understand, writing out several different solutions quickly and easily for her. 

He also spoke perfect, unaccented English.

**“My name is Hinata Natsu, and I am 9 years old.”** Hinata spoke the words slowly and clearly.

**“My name is… Hinata Natsu, and I… am 9… years old.”** Natsu repeated slowly, pausing every so often to form the sentence in her head before speaking. Hinata grinned and nodded.

“You did it!” he cheered, and Natsu grinned. “Is there anything else?” Natsu shook her head. “Alright, then let’s clean up and get ready for dinner.” Hinata smiled, and began to help her pack up her books. Kei watched in fascination.

“Why do your grades suck if you’re actually really smart?” Kei blurted out before he could stop himself. Hinata glanced over at him, and shrugged.

“It’s hard for me to focus in school. I get super restless and can’t pay attention, and have to try to remember what was taught and what I need to study. It’s hard sometimes.” Hinata mumbled. Natsu smiled at Kei.

“Mommy said Shou has ADHD and that it’s okay if he doesn’t do good in school all the time.” she informed Kei with all the candor and enthusiasm only a child could have. Hinata sighed.

“Natsu, you know you’re not supposed to just tell people that.” Hinata scolded, putting the last of her books into her bag. Natsu had the decency to look ashamed. She bowed her head slightly and pouted. 

“But Kei-kun is your friend, so it’s okay, right?” she mumbled, looking up with wide eyes. She looked straight at Kei.

“Uh, yeah, we’re friends.” Kei replied, fidgeting slightly. Hinata snorted softly. “Oi, shush you.” Hinata opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Akari.

“Shouyou-kun, there’s some people here to have a quick chat with you. Kei and Akiteru can sit with Natsu-chan.” she smiled kindly, and Hinata froze. Kei looked up to see his mother and brother standing in the entryway, Akiteru looking extremely uncomfortable.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I’m coming.” Hinata said, slowly moving to follow Akari out of the kitchen. Kei caught his eye on the way, and tried to give an encouraging smile. He wasn’t so sure it translated properly, but Hinata relaxed ever so slightly regardless.

“You went to Sendai Museum today, right? How was it?” Akiteru deftly distracted Natsu, sitting down and catching her attention.

Ignorant to the tense atmosphere, Natsu began to ramble on about her field trip and the things she saw and learned.

* * *

In the living room of the Tsukishima residence waited two detectives, sipping on tea. Shouyou followed Akari to the couch, where he sat silently.

“Hello, Hinata-san. My name is Detective Fujita Ren, and this is my partner Shibata Hitoshi. We’re here to speak with you about your father, Owen Clark.” one introduced himself in a kind tone. Hinata nodded.

“Is it alright with you if we record our conversation?” Shibata asked, holding up a digital recorder.

“Yeah.” Shouyou nodded, clenching his fists to ground himself. He hadn’t really told Akari the whole story, and Kei only told her the gist of things to get her to come home. He was nervous and kind of scared. 

_Kei? What?_

“Alright, thank you.” Shibata replied, and started the recorder. “Now, please start by introducing yourself, and state your age.”

“My name is Hinata Shouyou, and I am 15 years old.” Shouyou spoke as clearly as he could. Fujita nodded.

“Thank you,” he replied. Shouyou nodded back. “Now, we were told that your father, Owen Clark, has been hurting you. Is that true?” he questioned.

“Yes.”

“Can you elaborate for us?” Shibata’s voice carried a gentle tone, which caused Shouyou to tense up ever so slightly. 

“He hits me. Usually where it’s hard to see, but when he gets really mad, it’s just wherever he can get to first.” Shouyou’s voice trembled slightly. Akari made a cooing sound, and pulled him into a side hug, rubbing her hand up his arm.

“Do you know why he hits you?” Fujita asked.

“Because he’s mad. It can be because of anything. Work, me, my grades, mom didn’t answer the phone, his new wife said something that he didn’t like,” Shouyou spoke softly but kept his voice clear. “Last week, he got mad that his application to extend his visa got denied. He took it out on me.” tears stung his eyes. Akari froze for a brief moment, then squeezed him tightly.

“He doesn’t maintain citizenship in Japan?” Shibata asked, glancing up from his notepad.

“No. He let his visa expire after him and my mom divorced. He was barely around before anyways, he was always in New York working since his marriage visa didn’t let him work here like he wanted to.” 

“Do you have any injuries right now?” Fujita asked softly, and Shouyou nodded.

“He got really, really mad last night. He wants me and Natsu to go to New York with him, but he can’t get the paperwork done fast enough. His visa expires soon.” 

“Would it be okay if we took some pictures of your current injuries?” Fujita held a camera up as he asked.

“That’s fine.” Shouyou slowly stood, and began to take off his uniform jacket and shirt. Underneath the shirt, bruises covered him, almost everywhere. On his back were several cuts, ranging from shallow like scratches to deep like someone took a blade across his back.

Akari gasped, and tears began to fall down her own face.

The detectives worked quickly, taking several photos before instructing him to redress. 

“We’ve spoken with your mother, and she and Tsukishima-san have agreed that you and your sister are to stay here until she can return from Utashinai,” Shibata spoke as he began to gather his things. “We will return soon with your things from your fathers home.”

“T-thank you.” Shouyou let the tears fall then. 

“You don’t have to see him again.” Fujita reassured Shouyou, lightly patting his shoulder as he walked towards the door. Akari followed them, speaking softly.

Shouyou stood in the living room, holding his uniform jacket tightly, his body shaking. He finally did it, he thought. He would finally be free. Natsu would be safe.

“Shou! Are you okay?” his head snapped up at Natsu’s voice. She was standing at the doorway, Kei and Akiteru behind her, as if they chased after her. Shouyou felt his face scrunch up, and Natsu shot towards him, almost tackling him in a hug. “What’s wrong?” Natsu’s own voice shook as she squeezed him as tightly as she could.

Shouyou shook his head before dropping to his knees and hugging her back, letting the sobs out finally.

“I’m okay, Natsu.” he mumbled. “We’re okay.”

The Tsukishima family watched the red headed siblings in rapt fascination as they clung to each other and cried.

* * *

Dinner came and went quickly and quiet, everyone too lost in their thoughts or emotions to say much. The officers returned not long after they had left, several boxes worth of Shouyou and Natsu’s things in tow.

Akiteru and Kei silently carried their things up the stairs, settling the boxes in the guest bedroom. Akari kindly hovered over the Hinata siblings, keeping them occupied while her own sons worked.

“It’s getting late, why don’t you go take a bath and get ready for bed? We’ll set up the room for you tomorrow.” Akari suggested, smiling at them. Natsu sleepily smiled at her, and Shouyou nodded.

“Kei, dear, show them to the bath, please.” Akari requested of the first of her children she saw when looking up. Kei made a noise of affirmation, and Shouyou and Natsu got up to follow him.

Upstairs, Kei silently led them to the bathroom.

“Your room is down the hall, first on the left.” Kei spoke softly, gesturing to the room. “There’s only one bed, but we have the futon in there.” Shouyou smiled softly.

“Thank you, Tsukishima.” he patted his sisters head. “Go pick out some pajamas, Natsu.” Shouyou told her, gently pushing her shoulder towards the room. She hurried inside, closing the door with a soft click.

“You really don’t have to thank me, you know.” Kei shrugged, leaning against the wall across from the bathroom door. Shouyou looked at him and shook his head.

“I do. You’re the only one who did anything, really. You noticed.” Shouyou shrugged then. “Sure, maybe the lying is what bothered you enough to figure out what was going on, but you noticed when nobody else seemed to.”

“The rest of the team noticed.”

“Well, sure, but they went with the lies,” Shouyou stepped closer, and poked Kei in the middle of his chest. “And you didn’t.” he grinned up at Kei. “So, thank you.” 

“You really don’t need to thank me,” Kei repeated with a sigh, grabbing Shouyou’s wrist to move his hand from his chest. “I just did what any decent person would do.” 

He didn’t let go of Shouyou’s wrist.

When did he stop thinking of the boy as _Hinata_ but as _Shouyou_? When he met the other Hinata?

“Mm, sure. But,” Shouyou stepped even closer, leaving barely any space between the two boys. “I seem to remember someone saying they didn’t like seeing me hurt.” instead of the teasing tone he would have expected, he got a gentle whisper. Brown eyes burned with emotion.

“What decent person likes seeing others hurt?” Kei almost choked on the words. Shouyou let out a soft laugh.

“We both know you’re not much of a decent person.” Kei took offense to that.

“ _Oi._ I’m plenty decent.” another soft laugh.

“Sure, sure. That’s why nobody outside of the team dares to talk to you.” Shouyou tilted his head to the side, expression full of mirth.

“Oh, and you have so many friends?” Kei challenged.

“I _do_ talk to my classmates, you know.” Shouyou rolled his eyes. Kei scoffed. “What did you mean by that, though? That you don’t like seeing me hurt?”

“I think you know exactly what I meant.” Kei was whispering, unable to break eye contact with Shouyou.

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Shouyou whispered back. “I don’t want to get the wrong idea here.” 

Mustering any and all confidence he could find, Kei whispered back, “You haven’t, _Shouyou._ ” 

Shouyou blushed brilliantly, but smiled so brightly, it almost hurt to look at. He worked his wrist free from Kei’s grip, bringing up his other hand, and gripped Kei’s shirt, and dragged him down, meeting him halfway.

It wasn’t a spectacular kiss, by any means. It was awkward, shy, and messy. Their height difference made Kei crane down uncomfortably, and neither had any finesse or experience to know what they were doing.

But, either way, it was a nice kiss to Kei.

They broke apart just before they heard a door click open.

“Shou-shou, I’m ready!” Natsu sing-songed, and Shouyou backed away with a soft laugh. He was still blushing, though not as brightly. He stepped back and disappeared into the bathroom, his sister following.

Kei stood in the hall, staring at the closed door, his face dusted pink. Akiteru clambered up the stairs, and stopped to look at Kei.

“Y’know what, I’m not even gonna ask.” he shook his head, hands up, and continued on to his own room. “But, congratulations on growing a heart.”

Kei made a rude gesture at his back before disappearing into his own room.

* * *

The weekend seemed to fly by, filled mostly with shy smiles and stolen glances. It was hard to figure out their relationship with Kei’s older brother and Shouyou’s little sister constantly around.

Monday morning offered a brief reprieve.

“I’ll take Natsu-chan to school so I can speak with them, and Aki is already on the train back to Sendai.” Akari informed them when they came down for breakfast, Natsu already ready to go. “Shouyou-kun, if you could let your school know where you’ll be staying, that would be quite helpful.” 

“Ah, yeah, I’ll talk to them today.” Shouyou replied as he sat, pulling a mug of coffee towards him. 

“Thank you, darling. We’re off! Have a good day, boys.” Akari smiled as she made her way to leave.

“Bye, Shou! Bye Kei-kun!” Natsu called as she hurried off after Akari. The boys called out a goodbye before settling into their breakfasts.

“Uhm… are we-are we dating?” Shouyou broke the silence with a shy mumble. Kei blinked up at him.

“Do you want to?” Kei asked in return, bringing his own mug of coffee to his lips. Shouyou blushed, but nodded. “Then, yes, we are.” Kei shrugged, setting the mug back down.

“Are you sure?” Shouyou asked, staring at Kei with wide eyes.

“We both know I wouldn’t have said so if I wasn’t.” Kei replied, looking into Shouyou’s eyes. “Besides, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You- you always turn down confessions at school.” Kei snorted.

“Yeah, from random girls I’ve never spoken to before. Besides, I literally have absolutely no interest in girls, anyways.” Shouyou blinked.

“I guess that makes sense.” he mumbled. 

“We need to leave soon if we don’t want to be late for morning practice.” Kei stood, grabbing his dishes and taking them to the sink to rinse off. Shouyou gathered his own and followed.

They continued their morning routines in a shared, comfortable silence.

* * *

Yamaguchi almost choked when he met Kei at the main road, seeing him walking hand in hand with Shouyou.

“I- do I want to know?” he forced the words out, eyes darting from the joint hands to Kei’s face. Kei sighed and Shouyou laughed softly.

“It’s a long story,” Kei rubbed at his eyes tiredly, “but the gist of it is, we’re together and he and his sister are staying at my place for a while.” Yamaguchi did choke at that.

“That- what?” he wheezed through a cough. Shouyou let out a real laugh at that. Yamaguchi looked at the shorter boy with wide eyes. “You’re okay again.” Shouyou stopped laughing, blinking at him.

“I- well, mostly?” it sounded like a question.

“Told you people noticed.” Kei snickered, and Shouyou smacked him.

“I never said they didn’t!” Yamaguchi watched them bicker in fascination. 

“Wow, so it’s not a joke.” he mumbled, halting the two from bickering any further.

“Why would we joke about being together?” Shouyou cocked his head to the side, and Yamaguchi shrugged.

“I just didn’t see it coming, I guess? I dunno, you’re so different, it’s just a bit weird,” at Shouyou’s widening eyes, Yamaguchi backtracked. “But I get it, I think. I’ll get used to it! Though, _someone_ could have given me a heads up.” he turned an accusatory glare at Kei, who shrugged again.

“I was busy.” he waved off vaguely, causing Shouyou to roll his eyes and Yamaguchi to laugh. “Let’s go.” Kei started off towards school, practically dragging Shouyou along. Yamaguchi followed with a fond gaze at his best friend and his new boyfriend.

* * *

To say the Karasuno Boys VC took the news of Kei and Shouyou being together with grace and understanding would be a lie. 

There were various threats made to Kei to not hurt their resident ball of sunshine, even more exclamations of _”of all people it had to be Tsukishima!?”_

All of which were expected, but still annoyed Kei. Shouyou took it all in grace, smiling kindly and responding with a simple _“you don’t get it, but it's okay.”_

Kei went with Shouyou to talk with Takeda-sensei about him temporarily staying with him, even coaxing him into saying why.

“Are you sure you’re okay to play, Hinata-kun? Nobody would be upset if you took a few days to rest and recover.” Takeda-sensei spoke kindly, looking up at the boys from his desk.

“I’m sure! I’d feel worse if I were benched. But I promise, if it gets to be too much, I’ll rest.” Shouyou reassured with a smile. Kei snorted.

“More like I’ll have to force you to sit still and not overwork yourself.” Kei supplied, to which Shouyou stuck his tongue out at him. Takeda-sensei laughed at them.

“Alright, I’ll trust you both on this. I’ll make sure to update your records with your temporary residence, Hinata-kun.” at that, the boys said their farewells, and made their way home.

* * *

Living with Kei was easy, Shouyou decided a week after moving into the spare room with his sister. The officers came by to tell him that his father had left the country and had a visa ban, and wasn’t able to come back.

His mother called and said she was going to move his grandparents to Miyagi soon, so she could be home with her children.

All in all, Shouyou was happy.

He was sure Kei would never know how thankful he was. Kei saved his life that day. He was sure he wouldn’t have survived to the end of the month with his father, and his ever growing temper. 

He loved Kei, he realized the day his mother came to the door, crying and thanking the Tsukishima family for everything. 

He would spend every day, for the rest of his life, thanking Kei, loving Kei, and making sure Kei knew how happy he made him.

It was the least he could do, anyways. He was obligated to show his gratitude to the boy who, literally, saved his life.

**Author's Note:**

> this 100% was supposed to be a short little drabble based off a prompt and instead i wrote this incredibly long, thoroughly researched angst train, and i'm barely half way satisfied with the ending.
> 
> let me know how i did and what you think! i have a dew others that i'm working on that i'll post if i ever finish researching for them!
> 
> follow me on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/subtitlegremlin) for the occasional update or fanart!


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